The present invention relates generally to ties for coupling together two or more objects.
Ties are well known and are widely used in the art for bundling together two or more objects.
Cable ties are one type of tie which is well known and widely used in the art to bundle together a plurality of objects, such as wires.
One type of cable tie which is well known and widely used in the art comprises a serrated strap that is fitted to an apertured head containing an internal pawl or locking tang that engages the serrations of the strap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,529 to J. R. Paradis, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a bundling of objects using a harnessing device with a locking head and a strap with teeth that are controlled by stretching. The locking head contains a pawl or tang that engages the teeth of the strap by wedging. One or more wedging teeth are desirably located on the locking tang as well. A further tooth to promote locking is desirably included in the locking head. The strap is advantageously molded of stretch reorientable material which is subsequently stretched to control the profile of the teeth which are engaged by the locking tang and head. The teeth are spaced on the strap to permit use of the teeth near the head for the harnessing of small bundles. The pawl is provided with specified pivot points for both the insertion and loading of the strap in the head.
Another type of cable tie which is well known and widely used in the art comprises an apertured strap fitted to a buckle-like head, with a tongue that enters the apertures of the strap.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,608 to R. B. Fay, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a tie formed by a locking head and an attached ladder strap. The head contains a longitudinal guide channel for receiving the strap, after encirclement of items to be bundled, and an internal locking tang. The latter is deflected with respect to relatively narrow auxiliary channels on opposite sides of the guide channel. One of the auxiliary channels receives the locking tang during the bundling of the items; the other auxiliary channel contains a stop against which the locking tang becomes abutted in planar engagement by the reverse thrust of the harnessed items.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,648 to L. P. Dekkers, which is incorporated herein by reference, there is disclosed a tie formed by a locking head and an attached ladder strap. Tile head contains a locking tang and a guide channel that receives the strap after encirclement of items to be bundled. The tang engages the rungs of the ladder strap for the adjustable retention of the items. The free end of the strap has a light-weight webbed tail that facilitates the insertion of the strap into the head. The strap is advantageously molded of a stretch reorientable material and is subsequently stretched to produce a suitable strengthening and elongation of the webbed tail.
Although well known and widely used in commerce, conventional cable ties have been found to be susceptible to tampering. Specifically, with the strap of the cable tie inserted into and through the elongated channel in the head to form a closed loop, the strap can be subsequently backed out from the head by inserting a thin object, such as a pin, into the elongated channel and maneuvering the thin object so as to deflect the flexible pawl out of engagement with the teeth on the strap. With the flexible pawl deflected out of engagement with the teeth on the strap, the closed loop of the cable tie can be opened, which is highly undesirable in certain applications.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved tie.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved tie which is particularly useful in securely pairing together two or more objects.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tie as described above which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tie as described above which is easy to use.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tie as described above which is tamper-proof.
Accordingly, as one feature of the present invention, there is provided a tie for coupling together two or more objects comprising a cable tie shank comprising, a tail having a first end, a second end, a top surface and a plurality of teeth formed on the top surface, and an enlarged button end formed onto said tail, and a nut having an elongated opening and a pawl disposed to project into the elongated opening, the elongated opening being sized and shaped to permit the tail of said cable tie shank to be disposed therethrough, the pawl sequentially engaging the plurality of teeth when said tail is inserted into and through the elongated opening in said nut.
As another feature of the present invention, there is provided a tie for coupling together two or more objects comprising a cable tie shank having a tail, and a nut having a top surface, a bottom surface, an elongated opening and a pawl disposed to project into the elongated opening, the elongated opening being sized and shaped to permit the tail of said cable tie shank to be disposed therethrough, the pawl being disposed to engage the tail when the tail is inserted into and through the elongated opening in said nut wherein said nut is shaped to include a shroud for preventing tampering of the pawl.
Additional objects, as well as features and advantages, of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments for practicing the invention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.